Hog ring clinching tool



Oct. 27, 1953 W. D. CHILTON HOG RING CLINCHING TOOL 4 Sheets-Sheet l Filed Dec. 29, 1952 MIN NN. W

, INVENToR. M//UJAM Q Cf//LTo/v ay a/anuf, la-MJ] A TTORNE YS.

Oct. 27, 1953 w. D. CHILTON lHoG RING CLINCHING Tool.

4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 29, 1952 IN V EN TOR.

BY 76W, 7dana@ gym A TDENEKSI Oct. 27, 1953 w. D. CHILTON 2,656,539

Hoc RING CLINCHING ToorJ f Filed Dec. 29, 1952 4 lsnee'cfs-shew'c s INVENTOR.` M//L/AM D. CH/TON BY A TTOENEKS Oct. 27, 1953 W. D. CHILTON HOG RING CLINCHING TOOL Filed Dec; 29, 1952 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 y E y//f f l Il, M

FIG.

1 INVENToR. l/l//LL/AM 0. Chl/TON BY uw mw@ @fw/L@ g 124:4

Patented Oct. 27, 1953 UNITED Hoe RING cLmcHING VToonV j William DHChlto'n, Royal Oak, Mich., assigner to General Motors Corporation,- Detroit, Mich.,'=' a corporation of Delaware Y .Application December 29, 19's zlgfseriairingraziarti;k

.1 This invention relates tohog ring clinching tools. It is the object of the invention to provide an improved .hog ring clinching tool in which a pusher which takes a ring from the bottom of the stack in the magazine, pushes the ring into the jaws and also operates in connection with the clinching jaws to give the ring a slight preliminary closing for the purpose of causing the jaws to grip the ring and so insure the ring .will not drop out while the tool is being maneuveredoverthe work. The projection of the ends of the ringfrom the jaws enables the ring to be used to hook over wires or trimming material forpulling the same toa desired position before the ring is clinched over the wire or trimming materiaL A further feature of this pusher member is that on the return stroke a cam head integrated with it closes the jaws and clinches the ring.

A further improvement is a pair of latch levers on the end of the magazine for the purpose of preventing the rings slidingback on the magazine and off the end when the tool is moved around.

Referring to the drawings: y Y Fig. 1 is a top or plan view of the tool. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of -the tool partly in section.

. Fig. 2a. is a fragmentary side elevation of the tool showing the jaws in clinching position.

Fig. 3 is a section on the line v3 3 of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a front elevation of the jaws and a part of the magazine.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary side elevation showing the pusher in the process of pushing the ring out from underthe column of rings in the magazine. Y

Fig. 6 is a detail section on the line 6--6 of Fig. 5. y e

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary side elevation showing the pusher pushing the ring into the jaws located in the maximum open position.

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary section showing the ring being pushed along theupper guide groove. Fig. 9 is a similar view showing the ring being pushed from the upper groove.

Fig. l0 is a similarV view showing the ring snapped into the lower retaining groove of the Jaws. Fig. 1l is a detailrof the reel for the follower e cable.

Fig. 12 is a section ou theiine |2|2 of Fig. 1.

` Fig. 13 is a detail showing the slotted cam head and the two rollersonV the tail of` each lever to engage the two landings-on the Vcam head.

4comms. (Cibi-frei) 'f Hog rings, arejnowused extensively'in'connection withl clinchingswires and ysprings vvtogether in cushion' seat springs and more particularly for clinchingi the trimming material tojthe. cushion' springrfIt is desirable to have power operated clinching jaws.` A tool`of this kind is described and claimed in the prior Green Patent 2,205,690.' but this toolv does not have the features that have been enumerated in theV preamble'to this specification. j

Themagazine or ringguide is designated I'and comprises a channel-member having turnedin flanges 2 (see Fig.` v f'I'he rings are threaded onto the magazine' by-depressing the latches'S andnibs 4 that lordnarilyproject 'beyondjthe sides of,r` the magazine -to hold the rings from dropping off thei end lof the magazine. ""These latch levers are normally projected; to the position where nibs willf-retain the rings onthe magazine' by means ofthe spring 5. A follower 6 is pulledup against the end of the column ofvrings by means fof/the nylon cable 'l whichV at lone end is attachd'to the follower and Vthen passes over a sheave The cable then winds on a spring operated 'spool 9. At the end ofthe channel like magazine-a core or plug I0 is provided to guide the-ringsinto their iin'al position lforward ofi the pusher.-`A Y This plug l0 has anV arm il which fastens' ittobracket l2 by means vvfof a pin'and slotv connection I3. This allows the plug to riseand fall -'tthe extent permitted by the pin and slot. "A spring I4 pushesv the plug VIE) down'against fthe bed l5 on which pusher VIii slides (see Figf). -Pusherr IB has a chamfered front end l1 which is"fadapted to take a'ringR off thebotto'rn of thefcolum'n and push it against the lower edge l8""o'fj` the plug. This pushes the plug upwardly'against the resistance of spring I4 andallows the ring R to be .picked Y01T the column" and pushed forward as shown in the dotted lines o f Figjl".v l

-Figf showsthefpusher I6 about to strike vthe ring R and pick-itoithe column. Fig. 7 shows the ring' pushedf'intthe clinching jaws i9, and into the upper grooves 2p of the jaws (see Fig. 8). 4'Ihemaximurvn opening'of the jaws is shown in Fig. 7." Pusher Hfpushes ring R into the lguide "groove 20:01? th'e'jaws. With the jawsop'en to thepo'sition fsliownin'Fig. '7 the guide grooves converge toward the forward' end' of the jaws,

consequently, as the pusher continues to push the ring forward as xshown in Figs;'8,"'9 and l0;A the ring is given aprelimina'ry closing (but n'otset) 'by reas'onof-I being squeezed betweenfl thee-walls nicely shown in Figs. 8 and 9 and then the chamfered end of the pusher rides over the ring as shown in Fig. 10, as the ring reaches the end of the upper guide groove 20. This pushes the ring into the lower set of grooves 25 as shown in Fig. 10. The amount of preliminary closingv of the ring will depend on the angle of convergence of the upper grooves 20. This in turn will depend on the spread of the jaws. The amount of closing of the ends of the ring will not be great; usually it can be measured in sixty-fourths of an inch. The resilience of the' wire is such as not to takea permanent setwat this small closing and thus keep the ring inthe Jaws.

It will be seen in Fig. 2 ,thatthe ends25 of ring R project inside the jaws I9 and afford a convenient set of hooks to hook onto thework to pull it toward other work to which it is to be united byclinhing operations. The final clinching operation is shown in Fig". 2a. This is brought about by the ret-urn movement of the reciprocating member which includes the pusher I6 and the cam head or actuator 21 which encounters the needle bearing supported rollers 23 and spreads the clinching levers'lS thereby causing the forward ends of the clinching levers to swing inen the ringtogether from the position shown in Fig. 2 to the position shown in Fig. 2a. The lower grooves 25 on the ends of the jaws, as shown in Fig. 4., are arranged on a partial helix so4 that the ends of the ring can pass one 4another and form ma small helix if the ring is clinched on a small piece of work.

`The power operation conceivably could be electrio, hydraulic or even some form of mechanical operatiomvbut. I prefer to use pneumatic power. Referring Ato Fig. 2, 28% is a trigger by which valve sten i 29 may be pushed in to shift thetwo valves 30 and 3|. These valves have rubber gaskets on both ends. Each valve is a double conical valve. Normally spring 42 causes the stein and the trigger 28 to be in the forward position. Fig; 2 shows the pneumatic apparatus with the trigger 28 at rest. The air pressure comes into the air inlet of the handle, passes intothe space between the wing type of piston `Aguideand then through passagey 36l Ito space 32, behind piston 33. This keeps the pistonin the forward position and the pusher I6 in the outward position behind a ring 26.

The piston rod screws into the cam head or actuator on the threads 60 (see Fig. 2). When the trigger is pulled back, air from the intake passageway passes forward of valve 3U into passage 31 tochamber 4i at the front of the piston. Air behind the piston exhausts through passageway 38, chamber 39, thence forward of valve 3l down through exhaust passage lll in the handle. Fig. 2 shows the piston about to begin its backV stroke which brings the cam head or actuator 21 backwardly between needle bearing rollers 23 to clinch the fastener as shown in Fig. 2a. u

When the trigger 28 is released, spring 42 pushes the valve set forward. j Then air enters passage 36 at the rearof valve 3l, passes to space 32 behind piston 33 and pushes piston 33 forward. The airforward of the piston exhausts through passage 31,- thence to the rear of valve 30 and out exhaust port 43, at the end of spring chamber. This forward thrust of the piston as already explained causes the pusher to pick a ring on? the lower end of the stack in the magiazine, thenpush it forward intothe jaws to give it a preliminary closing. The ends 26 project from the jaws as shown clearly in Fig. 2, and they can be used to hook or grasp part of the work and pull it to the desired position for clinching.

This application is a continuation in part of my prior application entitled HogRing Clinching Tools filed September 4, 1947, Serial No. 772,172, now abandoned. However, in this new tool the interchangeable plate of the prior application, which was used to regulate the opening of the jaws; has been eliminated. The ends of the levers have4 raises 5D which encounter the Vbottfirn of theV slots `41 in the cam head to stop the' swing of the levers and establish the maximum opening of the jaws. The rollers, instead of being supported by balls are supported by needle bearings.

In the tool of the prior application, the pusher was considerably offset from the piston rod and consequently there was a tendency for the pusher to be distorted and wear the parts and some'- times jam in its guides. I have so revised and reconstructed the tool that now the pusher is not offset but is in a central positionand iii direct alignment with the piston red which gives it the thrust. This will be Seen by examining Fig. 1. Thisti's accomplished by means of having the bracket and arms which guide and support the jaws arranged one arni 45 at one Yside of the pusher (above in Fig'. 1) and the other 46 below vthe jaws in 1. The Cain head 2 is slotted at 41 so that the am head straddles the tail portion of the levers 21a that have the jaws, see Fig. 2`, and each lever has two rollers 23, one on each side of the end of the lever, one roller engaging one land Sl of the slotted cam headnand the other roller engaging the other land 6I of the slotted Cain head. This gives better balance yto the parts and minimizes clamping, jamming and wear. The bottoms of the slotsare engaged by C'raises 58 one the levers to controlnthe opening of jaws i9 and establish the jaws arrangement of width less than the length of the ring to give the preliminary closing to jam the ring in the jaws.

1. In a hog ring clinching tool the combination of ampairof clinching jaws,- means for arrestingtheclinchingh jaws in a position of maximurnopening', each of the jaws having a guiding groove, the said grooves converging forward when the jaws are in position of maximum opening, and the convergence for part of the distance that they lie opposite each other producing ay spacing of the grooves less than the initial length of the rings, and a positive pusher for pushinguthe ring into that part of said converging gooves of the jaws wherein the spacing of themgrooves is less than the initial length of thel rings, to thereby give the rings a preliminary closing. p

4 2. In a nog niiguchig tci die Combination of pair of `clincliingY jaws,- ineans for a1'- J'awfs in a position of maximum opening, each of the jaws having a guiding groove, the said grooves converging forward when thejarwsae in position ofY maximum opening, and the convergence for part of the distance that l*theyl lie opposite each other producing a spacing of the grooves less than the initial length of the. rings, and a positive pusher for pushing therngs into that part of said converging grooves of the jaws wherein the spacing of the grooves is less thamthe Linitiallength of the rines' to thereby give the rings a preliminary closing, the said jaws being pivoted levers of the iirst order and the said means for holding the jaws in position or maximum opening being a plate which encounters the power ends of the levers.

3. In a hog ring clinching tool, the combination of a pair of levers of the first order with grooved clinching jaws on the ends, a pusher for taking the ring and pushing it into the clinching portions of the jaws on the forward stroke of the pusher, power means with a rod for reciprocating the pusher` and a slotted cam head in alignment with the rod on the pusher for striking the power ends of the levers for separating the same and causing the jaws to move together in clinching the hog ring in the rearward movement of the pusher, said slotted cam head straddling the rear portion of the levers, and the bottom of the slots stopping the levers to control the maximum opening of the jaws.

4. In a hog ring clinching tool, the combination of a pair of levers of the first order having grooved clinching jaws on their ends, a pusher for taking the ring and pushing it into the clinching portions of the jaws on the forward stroke of the pusher, power means with a rod for reciprocating the pusher and a slotted cam head on the pusher in alignment with said rod for striking the power ends of the clinching levers for separating the same and causing the jaws to move together on the hog ring in the rearward movement of the pusher, said slotted cam head straddling the rear portions of the levers and the bottom of the slots of the cam head stopping the levers to control the maximum opening of the jaws and a roll on each side of the lever for engaging lands of the cam head on both sides of the slot.

5. In a hog ring clinching tool, the combination of a pair of levers having clinching jaws and two pairs of grooves, one pair being converging guide grooves on the ends of the levers and the other being a pair of curved clinching grooves on the jaw ends of the levers, and in a plane offset from the plane of the guide grooves, means for forming a positive stop for the opening of the jaws and the drawing together of the levers, a pusher for pushing the hog ring through the converging guide grooves to give it a preliminary closing and thence into the clinching grooves, and means for actuating the levers after the partially closed ring has reached the clinching jaws to thereby complete the closing of the ring.

6. In a hog ring clinching tool, the combination of a pair of levers having clinching jaws and two pairs of grooves, one pair being converging guide grooves in the ends of the levers and the other being a pair of curved grooves on the jaw ends of the levers, and in a plane onset from the plane of the guide grooves, means for forming a positive stop for the opening of the jaws and the drawing together of the levers, a pusher for pushing the hog ring through the converging guide grooves to give it a preliminary closing and thence into the clinching grooves, and means on the return of the pusher for engaging the levers to operate the clinching jaws to complete the closing of the ring.

7. In a hog ring clinching tool, the combination of a pair of levers having clinching jaws and two pairs of grooves, one pair being converging guide grooves on the ends of the levers and the other being a pair of curved grooves on the jaw ends of the levers, and in a plane offset from the plane of the guide grooves, means for forming a positive stop for the opening of the jaws, a pusher for pushing the hog ring through the converging guide vgrooves to give it a preliminary closing and thence into the clinching grooves, and means for actuating the levers after the partially closed ring has reached the clinching jaws to thereby complete the closing of the ring, said means comprising a cam on the pusher which encounters the ends of the levers on the return of the pusher after the pushing operation.

8. A hog ring clinching tool comprising, in combination, a pair of clinching jaws, a reciprocable member including a pusher for taking the ring and pushing it into the clinching jaws on the forward stroke of the member, the reciprocable member also including an actuator operating the clinching jaws on the rearward stroke of the member to close the jaws and clinch the ring therein, and power means lfor reciprocating the member, the power means having a normal position of rest at the end of the forward stroke of the member.

9. A hog ring clinching tool as recited in claim 8 in which the clinching jaws define a pair of grooves converging in the direction of the forward stroke of the pusher to a portion having a spacing less than the initial length of the rings, and the forward stroke of the pusher is of such extent as to force the ring into the said portion with the ends of the partly closed ring extending from the clinching jaws.

WILLIAM D. CHILTON.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

